Melt-moldable crystalline polyimide polymer

Abstract

A crystalline polyimide polymer having a practical effectiveness that extrusion or injection molding which has so far been applied to thermoplastic resins, but could not have been achieved by conventional polyimides, are possible due to its melting point in the range of 300° C. to 450° C., and a process for producing the polymer, are provided, which polyimide polymer contains the following imide repetition unit (I) in 30% by mol based on the polymer and containing or not containing at least one of other imide repetition units and also having an inherent viscosity of 0.1 to 5 dl/g in conc. sulfuric acid at 30±0.01° C.: ##STR1## wherein X is divalent CO, divalent SO 2 group, S, O or a single bond.

What we claim is: 
     
       1. A melt-moldable, crystalline polyimide polymer comprising the following imide reptition unit (II) in 30% by mol or more based on the polymer, and also comprising at least one member selected from the group consisting of the following imide repetition units (III), (IV), (V), (XIV), (XV) and (XVI) and also having an inherent viscosity of 0.1 to 5 dl/g as measured in a concentration thereof of 0.5 g/dl in concentrated sulfuric acid at a temperature of 30±0.01° C.,   and further having a melting point of 300° to 390° C. as measured by means of a differential scanning calorimeter: ##STR14## wherein R 11  represents a tetravalent organic group; R 12  represents a divalent organic group; and the imide repetition unit of the formula (XVII) does not contain any of the imide repetition units of the formulas (II), (III), (IV), (V), (XIV), (XV) and (XVI).   
     
     
       2. A melt-moldable, crystalline polyimide polymer according to claim 1 wherein said polymer comprises said imide repetition unit (II) in 30 to 95% by mol based thereon, and said at least one member of said imide repetition units of (III), (IV), (V), (XIV), (XV) and (XVI) in 70 to 5% by mol based thereon. 
     
     
       3. Melt-moldable, crystalline polyimide polymer according to claim 1 wherein said polymer comprises said imide repetition unit (II) in 30 to 70% by mol based on the polymer, and at least one member of said imide repetition units of (III). (IV), (V) and (XIV) in 70 to 30% by mol; and said melting point is 388° C. or lower. 
     
     
       4. A polyimide polymer according to claim 1 which also comprises the imide repetition unit ##STR15## where in R 11  represents a tetravalent organic group; R 12  represents a divalent organic group; and the imide repetition units of the formula (XVII) does not contain any of the imide repetition units of the formulas (II), (III), (IV), (V), (XIV), (XV) and (XVI). 
     
     
       5. A process for producing a crystalline polyimide polymer which comprises feeding into a reaction vessel, A 1  mols of at least one diacid anhydride compound having the following formula (vIII), A 2  mols of at least one diacid anhydride compound having the following formula (IX), B 1  mols of at least one diamine compound having the following formula (X), B 2  mols of at least one of diamine compound having the following formula (XI), together or in a divided manner; reacting these components at a temperature of 0° to 200° C. for 0.2 to 20 hours in the presence of a solvent so as to give a relationship between A 1  and A 2  as indicated by (XII) and a relationship between B 1  and B 2  as indicated by (XIII), and also so that at least 30% by mol based on the total mols of the diacid anhydrides, of at least one of the compounds expressed by the formula (VIII) can be reacted with at least 30% by mol based on the total mols of the diamines, of at least one of the compounds expressed by the formula (X); and imidizing the resulting polyimide precursor to obtain a crystalline polyimide polymer containing the following repetition unit (1) in 30% by mol or more based on the polymer and also having an inherent viscosity of 0.1 to 5 dl/g as measured in a concentration thereof of 0.5 g/dl in concentrated sulfuric acid at a temperature of 30±0.01° C.: ##STR16## wherein X represents a member selected from the group consisting of divalent CO group, SO 2  group, S atom, O atom and a single bond, R 1  represents a tetravalent group excluding a group expressed by the formula ##STR17## and R 2  represents a divalent organic group excluding a group expressed by the formula ##STR18##